24 August 2026, Feast of Saint Bartholomew
Homily
There were several concentric circles of followers around Jesus. First there was the crowd, to whom Jesus addressed most of his teaching. Then there was a group of disciples, men and women, who followed him on his journeys through Galilee and Judea. Among them were the Twelve, whom he had chosen in a special way and who were to be the foundations of his Church. Each of these Twelve was chosen explicitly, each by name. Of some of them we know a fair amount about their lives, their apostolic activity and their martyrdom. Of others we know very little. Of Bartholomew (Bar Tolomeos, i.e. the son of Tolomeus), whom we celebrate today, we know very little. According to tradition, however, Bartholomew is the same person as the Nathanael mentioned in the Gospel we have just heard.
